after six years the process of establishing the profession – WWN – ​​has not yet been completed

There is no peace for the osteopaths Italians. In spite of one Law, 3 of 2018, which finally recognized them as a healthcare profession, are still “in limbo”. They are waiting for the famous implementing decrees to be issued, without which the situation remains effectively frozen. And the times are now very tight, because the transition must take place by December. This is why osteopaths are sounding the alarm and have decided to ask for the mobilization of Italians.

Instead of 6 months, 6 years have passed

And to say that for measures of much greater weight, the approval times were less “biblical”: it took 652 days between 1977 and 1978 to launch the law on the National Health Service;
1,240 were the days needed to approve the reform of the university system between ’87 and ’90 and served 1,418 days, between ’97 and 2001, to determine the health professions degree classes. However, more than 2,100 days have passed since January 31, 2018, when the historic Law 3/2018 was passed which identified osteopathy as a healthcare profession. That law established a six-month deadline for the definition of implementing decrees.

The request to the Government and the online petition

«Instead of six months, six years have passed and the process of establishing the osteopathic profession in Italy is not yet completed. A delay of these proportions is unacceptable, which leaves over 12,000 Italian osteopaths and millions of citizens who trust in osteopathy suspended in limbo”, says Paola Sciomachen, president of the ROI – Registry of Osteopaths of Italy, the most representative association of professionals from our country. «We ask the Government not to wait any longer and that the promises are finally kept. It is also a need for citizens and for this reason we wanted to involve them by launching an online petition (HERE the link https://chng.it/Xk8Rpc8sWB), so that they can mobilize, make their voices heard and ask that the implementing decrees be issued by December 2023″ continues Paola Sciomachen.

Osteopathy: priority classification for 8 out of 10 Italians

According to the research conducted by the Quorum/Youtrend institute for ROI in April 2022, on a sample of 1,000 cases representative of the Italian population, almost 8 out of 10 Italians consider it a priority that the degree course is defined and the process of establishing osteopathy as a healthcare profession required by law is concluded. Furthermore, 82% of the sample believes that osteopathic treatments should fall within the Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA). The category is waiting for the Ministry of University and Research, in agreement with the Ministry of Health, dismiss the decree on the three-year training of the future degree in osteopathy, the last step before the definition of equivalences.

«THE
The Milleproroghe Decree, approved last February, had set 30 June this year as the final date for the conclusion of this process, a deadline that once again remained on paper”, adds Paola Sciomachen. The ROI petition is part of the #decretosubito campaign which highlights the paradoxes of this infinite wait. «We simply want the rights of thousands of professionals and citizens to be recognised, respected and protected. The only way to do this is for the legislative process to actually come to an end” concluded Sciomachen.

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